>> the only place they can go, eventually, is into the hebrew scriptures, into their tradition, and find out, "is it possible that the elect one, the messiah, the righteous one, the holy one"-- any title they use of jesus-- "is it possible that such a one could be oppressed, persecuted, and executed?" they go into the hebrew scriptures, and, of course, what they find is that it's almost like a job description of being god's righteous one, to be persecuted and even executed. >> and the amazing thing is, they said, "hey, pilate's right. he was the king of the jews. and, moreover, god has vindicated this claim that he is the king of the jews by raising him from the dead." >> ( dramatized ): an angel of the lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone. he said to the women, "jesus who was crucified, he has been raised. come, see the place where he lay." >> the stories about the resurrection in the gospels make two very clear points: first of all, that jesus really, really was dead; and secondly, that his disciples really and with absolute conviction saw him again afterwards.